Border Patrol Agents Seize SUV on the Border with 1,200 Pounds of Marijuana at an Estimated Value of $960,000

Release Date:

February 6, 2012

CALEXICO, CALIF.—Over the weekend, U.S. Border Patrol agents from the El Centro station arrested two smugglers after they attempted to transport more than 1,200 pounds of marijuana across the U.S.-Mexico border.

The incident occurred on Saturday night around 8:30 p.m., after Border Patrol agents operating a remote video surveillance system detected a suspicious sports utility vehicle (SUV) traveling near the border approximately 17 miles west of Calexico. Nearby agents were notified and immediately responded to the incident as the driver of the vehicle attempted to flee north away from the border.

The driver and passenger later abandoned the SUV and attempted to abscond back into Mexico after the vehicle became trapped in the desert sand. Border Patrol agents on scene quickly apprehended the suspects before they could get away. The SUV was subsequently searched and agents discovered 51 packages of marijuana valued at an estimated $960,000.

The driver and passenger were identified as Mexican citizens without legal immigration documents. They were both arrested and turned over to the Drug Enforcement Administration along with the SUV and the marijuana.

U.S. Customs and Border Protection is the unified border agency within the Department of Homeland Security charged with the management, control and protection of our nation's borders at and between the official ports of entry. CBP is charged with keeping terrorists and terrorist weapons out of the country while enforcing hundreds of U.S. laws.